The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for grouping a number of television channels according to a grouping criteria. The invention is particularly suitable for grouping channels which originate from a common programming service provider such as a television network, and can be used to integrate programming services which are provided via different broadcast signals in different transmission paths.
Recently, there has been a rapid increase in the number of available television channels due to the advent of digital television transmission schemes such as MPEG-2 and Digicipher.RTM. II. A digital television signal can be compressed to fit into a much narrower frequency spectrum than a conventional analog signal. In fact, with proposed schemes, up to ten or more standard definition television (SDTV) channels, or two high definition television (HDTV) channels can fit into the 6 MHz bandwidth which conventionally carries only one analog television channel. Accordingly, there has been significant interest in providing a hybrid communication scheme where some of the channel allocations are used to provide digital television signals, while the remaining allocations carry analog signals. Such a hybrid scheme is expected to provide a transition to an all-digital system by allowing broadcasters to continue transmitting their conventional analog television channel while concurrently transmitting one or more new digital channels.
Currently, frequency allocations for terrestrial broadcast television in the United States range from 54 to 806 MHz, with channels that are each 6 MHz in width. In accordance with governmental regulations, e.g., from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, the channels are numbered successively from two to sixty-nine. For example, channel 2 corresponds to a frequency band of 54-60 MHz, and channel 3 corresponds to a frequency band of 60-66 MHz. However, with the large increase in television channels and available programming, there is a need to organize the programs to meet the needs of viewers and programming service providers. In addition, programming service providers wish to maintain a strong brand identity (e.g., with respect to their given broadcast channel number) even when one service provider offers several different programming choices on different channels. For instance, the programming service provider Home Box Office.RTM. (HBO) has different channels which are identified by the designations HBO, HBO-2, HBO-3 and so on. Moreover, nationwide and regional programming service providers wish to maintain a strong association with local affiliates which may provide programming such as local news, sports, features and the like. For instance, a national network broadcaster such as the National Broadcasting Company.RTM. (NBC) has numerous local affiliate stations. Many of the local affiliates have a strong brand identity in the channel number corresponding to their allocated frequency band which they would like to maintain and build (e.g., "Channel 2 news").
Similarly, viewers wish to have a simple and understandable way of selecting from the available programming services, even when channels are being added or dropped, or the channel assignments of existing programming services are rearranged. In particular, it would be convenient for viewers to have the ability to select among the channels offered by a common service provider by operating a hand-held remote control or the like with "channel up" and "channel down" buttons.
With existing television systems, channels which are associated with a common programming service provider, for example, cannot be easily accessed with the channel up or channel down function since the associated channels are not usually contiguous. For example, when channels 2 and 20 are associated, a viewer would have to depress the channel up button and sequence through 18 channels to move from channel 2 to channel 20. This is time-consuming and inconvenient. Moreover, although the viewer has the option of entering the desired channel number directly using the numeric keypad of the remote control, this requires the viewer to know the channel numbers of the grouped channels. Moreover, the programming service provider may lose the viewer if the viewer happens to sequence through a channel which he finds more interesting than the next channel offered by that programming service provider. Of course, the programming service provider has a strong interest in maintaining viewership in order to set profitable advertising rates.
Grouped television programs may be provided via different broadcast signals which are provided over different transmission paths. For example, a television program such as a nationwide network news program may be transmitted via a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) system which is received via a satellite dish at the viewer's home. However, programming from a local affiliate in a terrestrial broadcast signal cannot be received by the viewer unless he switches the DBS system off and tunes in the local program using a conventional "rabbit ear" antenna or the like. Moreover, additional associated programming may be available only via yet another transmission path such as a cable television (CATV) distribution system. Furthermore, with other proposed broadcast schemes such as multi-point microwave distribution systems (MMDS), it can be seen that the available options can quickly overwhelm many viewers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system which allows a viewer to easily navigate programs which are grouped according to a common service provider or other grouping criteria by depressing the "channel up" or "channel down" buttons on a hand-held remote control or the like. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a system for integrating programming services which are provided via one or more transmission paths. The system should allow a viewer to successively select the grouped channels regardless of the broadcast signal, transmission path and/or frequency spectrum in which the channel is carried. The system should also allow the grouped channels to be designated by a common channel designator such as a channel number. The present invention provides a system having the above and other advantages.